The "forceful and smart" arm signals of deck personnel guiding aircraft on China's first aircraft carrier have become the latest hot topic in the country's cyberspace.
The "guiding gestures" became the most discussed topic on popular microblogging site Sina Weibo on Monday, one day after China announced the successful landing of jets on the Liaoning aircraft carrier.
The arm signals used to guide aircraft during their taking off and landing on the carrier deck have been given much media exposure.
On Sina Weibo, the number of tweets and retweets about the gestures hit nearly 8 million in a single day. Chinese Internet users posted a large number of pictures in which netizens mimicked the gestures in their homes and offices, often wearing pajamas and costumes.
One of the most frequently reposted pictures was of a crew member kneeling down on one knee with one of his arms bent back and the other extending in the direction to which his upper body is inclining. Two of his pointing fingers are guiding the pilot to take off from the deck.
"It is a gesture of strength, self-confidence and pride," said web user "sheeny17."
Li Xiaoyong, deputy chief of the aviation section on the Liaoning, earlier told Xinhua that the basic requirements for the arm signals are that they are "timely, accurate and standard."
"To achieve that goal, we have been practising really hard," he said. "Sometimes, the practice makes us too tired to raise our arms."
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